Harvest Is an Opportunity to Give Thanks to God for the Goodness of Creation and the Generosity

HARVEST 2010

Harvest is an opportunity to give thanks to God for the goodness of creation and the generosity of God’s provision. It allows us to acknowledge our dependency on God – and also on the expertise and endeavours of those who produce and supply our food, both locally and globally. (Arthur Rank Centre)

These words surely encourage us to celebrate a harvest festival whether we are in an urban or rural context as the harvest service gives us all an opportunity to give thanks for our food and those who produce it.

I hope that the harvest worship resources provided here will once again prove helpful to all those who are planning or leading harvest thanksgiving services this year.

These resources are also to be found on the Diocesan website. Further material is available in Times and Seasons, Seasons and Festivals of the Agricultural Year and from the Arthur Rank Centre (.

Once again I commend to you the three farming charities, FCN (Farm Crisis Network), RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution) and the ARC Addington Fund, contact details can be found below.

Please contact me if I can be of further help.

The Revd. Canon Richard Rowling, Archbishop’s Adviser for Rural Affairs

The Rectory Cemetery Road Thirsk YO7 1PR Tel. 01845 523183

E-mail

Harvest thoughts 2010

As we stood sheltering at the great Yorkshire Show a farmer said to me” Well that’s done it, it has rained on St Swithins day, it will be back end of August before we get any settled weather”. It certainly seems as though this old traditional saying has some relevance with the last 40 days weather. A farmer told me in early August that it had taken him a month to do 1/3 of his harvest, he hoped it would not take another 2 months to do the other 2/3s. This harvest has been a bit frustrating but never the less reasonably rewarding with on or just below average yields at the time of writing. (August 24th )Most of the first wheat’s (wheat that is following a break crop such as oil seed rape) in the North are still to cut; some of these look to be exceptionally good crops so there might be some yield records broken yet. Prices have hit the headlines recently due to the lack of rain in parts of the world and far too much in others. The news that the Russians were suspending exports lead to the speculators coming into the market and lifting the price to high levels of around £160 a ton. This sort of price would give amazing returns if it all got back to the farmer, but up to 60% of the harvest was already sold forward before the combines started to roll and the speculators started buying futures, many not even knowing what they are trading in . The rise in prices on the world market immediately prompted the major retailers to say that the price of food would have to go up as wheat was twice the price of last year. They conveniently forget they had a lot of their wheat brought forward at around £100 -£120 a ton. They also did not bring the price of food down when they put it up to reflect the price rise of 3 years ago when wheat was trading at nearly £200 a ton; again here the price was being driven up by speculators. Farmers and there staff will continue to work very hard to get the harvests in despite the challenging weather conditions. One thing that is certain is that every acre capable of growing wheat will be planted this autumn and that next autumn in all probability there will be a glut of wheat and the current price of £160per tonne will then seem to be a distant memory. A lot of farmers consider that the forward price for November 2011 of £125-£130per tonne is a good one and a fair bit of wheat is being sold forward at this price.

At this time of year the sheep and suckler sales start in the upland areas, this is of course the upland farmer’s harvest. The sheep sold at these sales are expected to realise a reasonable price. In part this is caused by the decline in the national sheep flock which has dropped by 4% year each year during the last 4 years. When this year’s June stock returns are published it is expected that this decline in numbers will have been maintained. This buoyant market will need to be sustained for a number of years before farmers will consider building up flock numbers in the uplands.

I hope these thoughts are of use to you all and may help you in your harvests festival services. A time when both rural and urban communities will be thinking of the countryside and all who farm. Please would you remember the work of Farm Crisis Network (FCN) and The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute (RABI) in their 150th year, by consider giving some of the collection taken at your harvest festival to these organisations. If you require any other information then please do not hesitate to contact, Sally Connor, Helen Benson or Bob Baker..

Sally Conner RABI Regional Officer North East

Tel: 01964 541400 Mobile: 07818 093506 Email:

Bob Baker CRC Rural Officer , Thirsk Rural Business Centre , Blakey Lane, Thirsk, North Yorkshire

01845 525757

Helen Benson FCN Yorkshire Coordinator

01677 470180 07749896060

ARC-Addington Fund, The Red Stable Block, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2LZ
Registered Charity Number – 1097092

Email address: Tel: 02476 690587 Fax:02476 696274

HARVEST WORSHIP RESOURCES (Compiled by the Arthur Rank Centre)

Readings:Isaiah 55. 1-11An Invitation to Abundant Life

Psalm 104. 1-16God the Creator and Provider

Colossians 3. 12-17Clothe yourselves with love... and be thankful

John 4. 7-15A spring of water, gushing up to Eternal Life

Introduction

In British culture, rain is often viewed rather negatively. ‘Unfortunately there will be heavy showers across the whole country tomorrow’ intones the weather forecaster. This is a mystery for many from drier climes for whom the arrival of rain is the cause of much rejoicing. Water symbolizes life and indeed without it there is no life.

WaterAid ( is an international non governmental organisation. Its mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest communities. Visit WaterAid’s website to discover more about its work and the water issues facing the global community today.

According to WaterAid, 884 million people in the world do not have clean water. That's about one in every six people. 1.4 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This is about 4,000 deaths a day. Countless farmers and growers around the world struggle to produce food and rear livestock in increasingly arid conditions. And what are the water issues facing us in this country? How carefully do we use this vital resource?

These worship resources focus on celebrating harvest and, in part, on this most precious commodity – water. They are for use by congregations, groups or individuals and can be amended to suit the purpose and context.

Sermon Notes

The invitation to share in God’s abundant life is often framed as an invitation to a feast; the reading from Isaiah 55 is one such example. The feast is an image of celebration, friendship, sharing, joy and love.

Another image for the life that God offers is that of ‘living water’ – a spring of water that will quench the fiercest of thirsts – and do so for eternity. In John 4 this image is developed by Jesus, though understood a little too literally by the Samaritan woman.

Water, bread, food and feasting – all lie at the heart of the human experience – and from them we are given glimpses into the very life of God. By reflecting on these very tangible, everyday things we can learn about God. Spend time considering water or bread or food – how it is produced, supplied, grown – its importance, significance and value – challenges that need to be faced. How informed are we about the issues related to these matters? And how grateful are we – to God – and to those who supply these basics of life? Are we ‘clothed with love and thankful’ as in the reading from Colossians?

Give some consideration to the idea of feasting – something that lies at the heart of the Christian story and the life of the Church – and of course Harvest is a ‘feast/festival’ to be celebrated!

Opening Responses

God of life and love

We rejoice in your abundant gifts

God of all peoples and all places

We celebrate your generosity and grace

God of the earth and the heavens

We praise you for your provision

You visit the earth and water it

Softening it with showers and blessing its growth

You make springs gush forth in the valleys

From your lofty abode you water the mountains

God of life and love

We bless your holy name

Confession

Gracious and generous God,

we confess our lack of gratitude,

our careless attitude towards others

and our wastefulness.

We confess our greed and selfishness,

our apathy towards those who struggle

and our ignorance and hard-heartedness.

We confess our abuse of the environment,

our reckless exploitation of the earth’s resources

and our lack of respect for creation.

Silence

Gracious and generous God,

we are truly sorry.

Forgive us, renew us and set us free,

in the name of Christ. Amen.

Collect

Creator God, your abundant love sustains all that you have made. Grant us the wisdom of your Son and the fruit of your Spirit,

that we may live generous and thankful lives,

carefully collaborating and sharing with you in the purposes of heaven; and to you be glory and praise, now and forever. Amen

Children & Young People –

the importance of water

How many uses of water can we think of?

(e.g. drinking, growing, baking, washing, heating, cooling, transporting, generating...)

Illustrate some examples – glass of water, plant, loaf of bread, flannel...

Water is precious – and without water there is no harvest.

Thanksgiving

God of life and love, we offer you our thanks and praise in this season of Harvest.

We thank you that you are Creator and Provider,

the source of all goodness.

We thank you for the sunshine and the rain,

for the land and the soil.

We thank you for the miracle of fertility and growth, for the rhythm of nature and life.

We thank you for crops and livestock, farmers and growers. We thank you for our calling to be co-creators with you and we pray especially for all who share with you in the task of growing and supplying the food we eat. God of life and love,

we offer you our thanks and praise. Amen.

Intercessions

Loving God

The countryside is often presented in an unrealistic fashion; a rural idyll of a green and pleasant land; a place of relative affluence, to which people can escape for leisure and recreation; where a strong sense of community prevails and life is lived at a gentler pace.

We pray for those who live with a reality which is very different

the 20% of the population in this country living on or below the poverty line
those who suffer from the lack of appropriate, affordable housing
for farmers expected to produce more food in a more efficient and sustainable way – and in particular those experiencing considerable pressure, especially in dairying and uplands livestock production, or struggling with Bovine TB, or wrestling with the complexities and inefficiencies of the current system of support payments

We pray for policy makers and those with influence

for the imaginative, creative, tailored and possibly costly solutions which are required to maintain a vibrant and sustainable countryside
for the new team of Ministers at DEFRA
for the process of reforming the Common Agricultural Policy

We pray for those people of faith engaged in the countryside

for the work of the Arthur Rank Centre - the churches’ rural resources centre and a partnership between the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the Rank Foundation and the churches
for the ecumenical networks of Rural Officers and Agricultural Chaplains working through the Districts, Dioceses and Synods of the churches
for all churches and clergy situated in rural communities

We pray for issues around the food we buy and eat

for supermarkets and those with power in the food chain, that it may be exercised fairly and justly
for an increased awareness of the ethical choices we make whenever we purchase food
for food production which is sustainable and good for the environment

We pray for the global challenges of water provision

for those denied access to clean and safe water
for farmers and growers struggling to produce food and rear livestock in arid and difficult conditions
for those communities suffering the destructive forces of flooding
for our own appreciation of the importance and value of water

We pray for the Church in every land, every community – and in this place...

We pray for those known to us who are in particular need at this time...

We pray for ourselves and for those dear to us...

Loving God, hear our prayers and, with the help of our being and doing, may our prayers be answered. Amen

Closing Responses

God of life and love

Clothe us with love and make us thankful

God of all peoples and all places

Satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst

God of the earth and the heavens

Bless us in our living and loving

In the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen.

PREFACE*

And now we give you thanks because you make us stewards of your creation, to praise you day by day for the marvels of your wisdom and power.

POST COMMUNION PRAYER

Lord of the harvest, with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation and have shared in the bread and wine of the kingdom: by your grace plant within us a reverence for all that you give us and make us generous and wise stewards of the good things we enjoy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (CW)

BLESSING* [Church in Wales]

God the Father, who created the world, give you grace to be wise stewards of his creation. Amen.

God the Son, who redeemed the world, inspire you to go out as labourers into his harvest. Amen.

God the Holy Spirit, whose breath fills the whole of creation, help you to bear his fruits of love, joy and peace. Amen. And the blessing . . .

ENDING*

Tend the earth, care for God’s good creation,
and bring forth the fruits of righteousness.
Go in the peace of Christ. Thanks be to God.